US President Donald Trump announced that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had committed to putting millions of tons of diesel on the American and global markets over a period of months, after a “very productive conversation,” according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
Trump wrote on social media: “Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the American and global markets, and another 500,000 tons during November and one million tons immediately after that.” Moreover, depending on the condition of its refineries, Russia will quickly pump three million tons of diesel.”
He added: “Diesel prices for Americans, and indeed for the entire world, will fall quickly and at record rates!” “Providing lower prices for Americans, especially our great farmers, ranchers and truck drivers, is my top priority.”
In turn, the Kremlin quoted President Putin as saying, on Friday, that his country is ready to supply oil and petroleum products to the United States and global markets, and that this would support the global economy as a whole. The Kremlin stated, in a statement, that the two leaders also discussed ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and the situation in Iran.
The US President realizes that rising fuel prices are a major cause of voter dissatisfaction ahead of the extremely important midterm elections on November 3. The Republican Party fears losing control of Congress in these elections.
In light of the sanctions imposed on Russia's fuel exports, the US Treasury Department clarified that it had granted a temporary license to put these products on the market.
Trump's announcement coincides with the resumption of talks in Florida, on Friday and Saturday, between the Americans and the Ukrainians, to which the Europeans were invited, regarding settling the conflict with Russia.
J.D. Vance, US Vice President, said on Friday that he would not watch the live broadcast of the execution of the shooter at the Fort Hood military base, if it were broadcast.
He added that he does not know whether the broadcast, which the Pentagon plans to conduct upon the execution of the perpetrator of the attack that killed 13 people in 2009, will happen or not, according to Reuters.
He explained: “I don’t know if that will actually happen,” and that if it is broadcast, “I will not watch it.”
As controversy increased over the plan, which was defended by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, former American officials said that live broadcasting of the execution would give terrorists a recruitment tool, while a senior American Catholic bishop described the plan as “barbaric.”
Vance's comments raise questions about the extent of opposition within President Donald Trump's administration to plans to broadcast the execution of Nidal Hassan, an army psychiatrist who was convicted in a military trial of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas.
On Friday, Trump said at the White House that Hassan deserves the death penalty by firing squad, describing him as “crazy.”
The Republican president did not say whether he believed the execution should be broadcast live.
Death penalty experts said this would constitute the first known live broadcast of a legal execution.
New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani called on President Donald Trump to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the city and withdraw them from them, after a shooting incident involving an officer who said his life was in danger, which led to the injury of a man from the Dominican Republic in front of his five-year-old child.
“This is an unforgivable and extremely dangerous situation,” Mamdani said in a statement on Thursday night. "I called the president and will demand that he stop all law enforcement operations conducted by ACE in our city." He added, "I will not stand idly by while ICE agents terrorize our communities."
He later said in a press conference in front of angry demonstrators at the shooting site that after a two-hour conversation with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullen, he was unable to reach an agreement to release the injured person. “There is no justification for what we witnessed,” he said, adding that the federal officers surrounding the car were wearing protective vests and masks, making it difficult to identify them as immigration officers.
State Governor Kathy Hokul joined Mamdani's campaign, and said in a statement: “New Yorkers have witnessed too many acts of violence committed by a rogue federal agency and untrained elements operating unchecked. Federal authorities must provide answers, and they must do so immediately.”
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch recounted the details of the incident, explaining that ACE officers were “carrying out a targeted law enforcement operation” to arrest Oscar Belgal (28 years old), who was accompanied by a five-year-old child. Tish said that an agent in civilian clothing approached the driver's window pointing his gun, and when the car moved forward, one of the agents fired "at least seven bullets, hitting the driver in the neck below his left ear."
She added that upon arrival, the police saw “at least one person carrying a rifle,” while the injured person was found “handcuffed and sitting on the ground” before he was taken to the hospital in stable condition, while the child remained “well and in the care of a member of his family.”
Exchange of accusations
For its part, the Department of Homeland Security said that an ACE officer opened fire and hit his target, to whom “ACE agents immediately provided first aid.”
In a joint press conference in Washington, Mullen and senior ACE official Marcus Charles gave a different account, as Charles said that Belgal rammed the officers' cars with his car, which led them to believe that their lives were in danger.
Mullen explained that the agents were not aware that the child was in the car, but Belgal “was aware” of it, and chose to intentionally put the boy in danger. Mamdani then criticized, saying that “politicians who provide a safe haven create an environment conducive to criminal activity to flourish.”
He added that the administration asked New York officials to detain more than 14,000 people without a response, and also criticized the media interest in the case. The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Belgal, whom it described as an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, “has a prior criminal record for grand larceny.”
Political anger
The incident sparked a wave of anger among politicians in the state. Mamdani stressed, “There is no justification for federal officers to fire this amount of bullets at a car with a five-year-old child inside.
Representative Ritchie Torres described the incident as “heinous and inexcusable.” Meanwhile, Senator Chuck Schumer said that the shooting was “extremely disturbing, especially in light of reports that there was a child in the car,” calling for the release of body camera recordings and independent investigations.
This incident comes in a context of escalating violence related to federal immigration operations, as statistics from The New York Times and ABC News indicate that more than 20 people were injured by bullets, and at least six were killed. Among them are three American citizens.
New York City alone witnessed more than 8,800 of the state's Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests during Trump's second term, according to the Gothamist website.
